Dollcraft

Today, I went to the local doll show for the second time. Both years, I feel like I've got awesome deals for less than $30, plus enjoyed a museum-like experience of the wide variety of dolls others collect. Tacoma/Puyallup doll show isn't huge, but large enough to spend about two hours looking at everything. (There's another row to the left) When I attended in 2015, there were many UNUSUAL dolls: ?? stylin' hair Poor Pitiful Pearl A ventriloquist doll Reborn doll I love this redhead doll's wistful expression Little Miss No-Name doll teeny musical instruments! assemble your own doll? I didn't have much cash for the first show, and was pretty thrilled to make it in with $20 ($8 admission fee) and still get three dolls. I'd been looking for Rosie online- this show had two! Plus Business Pocahantus and a Liv doll were in a grab bin. In 2017, there were less zany dolls, but still many good classics. Cl...

I am white women. I collect dolls of color. I try to do it for good reasons. I grew up with Barbies. My sister and I only had one black doll- a 1990's Steven (black Ken). In our stories he was married to our one black-haired doll, a Kira. (She could be interpreted as Asian/Pacific Islander.) No adult told us those two belonged together, or that Steven shouldn't date the white blonde dolls. (And we were certainly not taught that dolls of color were bad or ugly.) I was raised to be "colorblind," but when you never talk or think about racial issues, bad messages can be sent accidentally. These are often subconscious messages, or schema . Accidental Race Lessons White is normal. White is beautiful. White is good. I know these may sound over the top, especially if you are a white person raised like me. Give me a chance to break it down. I'll use myself as a prime example, but hopefully I can show this happens. (Perhaps you had a different life exper...

Dear Mattel:  Everything does not need to be pink and purple.  Also, your sculpture/designers do amazing work. It deserves to be seen! -Love, Ginger Fear not, plastic can be repainted. I found a wonderful clawfoot bathtub for $1.50 at a thrift store. (My husband says it's called a slipper tub, as in Cinderella's slipper, describing the higher back.) How beautiful it would look in normal colors!  You need: Barbie furniture steel wool spray paint super glue protective plastic or newsprint optional: beads to replace missing knobs optional: clay or tape  optional: paint thinner I disassembled the tub just by pulling hard or banging against something hard. (The tube was harder to remove- I wedged a tiny screwdriver from a watch repair kit along the inside to break the hold) I cleaned the tub and scrubbed it with steel wool. (I think it would have been wise to remove the little painting with paint thinner, but I didn't t...

Finding a good articulated 12" doll is an ongoing challenge, and when it comes to male bodies, action figures can be a good solution. GI Joe is the most famous action figure, yet they are hard to find new or in the 1/6 scale size. Older GI Joes are collectable and can be unaffordable for casual collectors like me, who simply want a diverse doll world. I have recently purchased several "World Peacekeepers" dolls. They are available at Big Lots for $13 or $20. I haven't seen them anywhere else yet, and their  website  doesn't seem to sell online. I recently purchased a doll made to resemble a black or Latino man. There is also one Asian option I have been unable to find so far. Power Team Elite: World Peacekeepers Action Figure  Action Figures is just a silly name for "boy" dolls with "boy" themes: fighting, guns, police, rescue, etc. The wikipedia article on GI Joe says that they came up with the term Action Figures because "boys...